Round of 16 matchups set for FIBA U18 European Championship

BRATISLAVA/PIESTANY (FIBA U18 European Championship 2017) - Three of the four previously unbeaten teams couldn't finish the Group Phase of the FIBA U18 European Championship 2017 unscathed, with Group A winners Turkey coming out as the only side to keep their momentum going before the start of the Round of 16.

The Serkan Erdogan-coached Turkish side improved to 3-0 in the standings with an 85-74 victory against Montenegro, thanks to a near double-double performance of 27 points and 9 rebounds by Ragip Atar.

In the other game of the group, Germany got on the board in the tournament with a 67-65 overtime victory over Russia but couldn't avoid a fourth-place finish and a meeting with Group B winners Serbia, while Russia and Montenegro finished second and third.

Having registered a 72-63 victory against Ukraine, Serbia benefited from Italy defeating Spain later in the day. Michele Serpilli drained four three-pointers en route to a game-high 16 points to lead the Italians to a morale-boosting 68-61 victory against the previously unbeaten Spain.

Meanwhile, France took advantage of Bosnia and Herzegovina slipping up against Latvia to slide into the top spot in Group D with a 68-54 victory against the tournament hosts Slovak Republic, with Ivan Fevrier leading the way with 16 points and 9 rebounds, while Majercak scored 14 points for the home team.

For Bosnia and Herzegovina, who finished second, this will be remembered as the one that slipped away after seeing their undefeated run snapped by third-place Latvia, who celebrated a 79-74 victory behind the hot 7-of-7 shooting of Francis Lacis for a game-high 16 points.

Lithuania got the crown in Group C after registering an 81-61 victory in the winner-takes-all contest with Greece, with Arnas Velicka scoring 20 points, grabbing 9 rebounds, dishing out 4 assists and adding 3 steals.

After leading the standings up to this point, Greece dropped to the second spot, while Slovenia got the third spot by passing Finland with a 90-80 scoreline, as David Kralj equaled the tournament-high with 32 points, while adding 9 boards and 5 dimes.

The Round of 16 matchups:

Turkey v Ukraine Russia v Italy Serbia v Germany Spain v Montenegro  Lithuania v Slovak Republic  Greece v Latvia Bosnia and Herzegovina v Slovenia France v Finland [/unordered]

You can follow how the day's play unfolded on Live Updates, and check out full replays on YouTube.com/FIBA.

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